[.ca] Rain of the Moon: Silver in Ancient Peru (ISBN 0300085125)

An excellent addition to any library on Peru.:
Andean societies excelled in metallurgy. The artisans hammered out remarkable jewelry and artifacts for the various royal dynasties (Chavin, Nazca, Wari, Moche, Inca) as far back as the late second millennium B.C. Silver to the Inka (supreme ruler) symbolized the moon, the female deity and source of life. Gold symbolized the sun (male deity). Silver and gold were equally valued by the Inca civilization and were only to be possessed by the Inka and his royal household. Quantities of gold objects survived (with no help from the pillaging of the Spaniards from 1532 on), but lesser amounts of silver. The silver which has survived often suffered physicochemical changes. It also appears that silver was less frequently used by the artisans because it was more difficult to locate and process than the more readily available nuggets and flakes of gold. That said, this book catalogues the New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art's November 2000-April 2001 exhibition of pre-Columbian Peruvian Silver. The "Rain of the Moon" exhibition was made possible by generous loans of major pubic institutions and private collections. The map and three essays that accompany the 64 photos (color/b & w) are very informative. The photos are of excellent quality and substantially annotated. This is an excellent addition to any library on Peru. Emphatically recommended for students of Peruvian culture, South American anthropologists and archeologists. Highly recommended